AI and Interior Design

The Good, The Maddening, and Why We're Testing It Anyway

Okay, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Or, more accurately, the robot in the room!

Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now, and interior design is no exception. Everyone has an opinion. Some designers are nervous. Some are obsessed. And some are somewhere in the middle, poking at new tools with equal parts curiosity and skepticism.

Me? I'm firmly in the #whatif camp. Because if there's one thing I've learned after decades of designing spaces that make people feel something, it's that the best question you can always ask is: what if?

So here's my honest, no-fluff take on AI and what it actually means for my world of interior design.

What We're Loving About AI

Let's give credit where credit's due, because honestly? Some of this stuff is wild!

AI tools are turning out to be genuinely impressive, especially as we continue to test them with various prompts and analyze the outputs.

From an organizational perspective, we're using AI in ways that will genuinely change how our business runs. Behind the scenes, we've been building an AI workspace that functions like a back-office version of us. We've loaded it with our client lifecycle, SOPs, and tracker so it carries our context. We're also testing the capacity for building out an API tool, which allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other. The time savings alone is proving to be significant, and we’ve barely scratched the surface.

What’s working really well? Voice memos sharing ideas easily turn into projects we can actually plan for. We use AI as an editor, polishing documents, emails, and communications that need an extra eye before they go out. And it’s surprisingly good at catching stale processes. It recently flagged and removed an onboarding step we no longer do, which was a genuine win.

From a creative perspective, we're testing it on correcting lighting, softening renders by adding accessories to an otherwise empty space, and changing the color or appearance of items like wood tones, paint colors, and fabric selections. The ability to show a client "what if we went warmer on that wood tone" in real time? That's a conversation changer.

So do I believe in utilizing AI as a creative accelerator? Heck yeah. I'm here for it!

What’s Maddening About AI?

Okay, here's where I get on my soapbox. (You've been warned.)

Let's talk about the creative liberties it decides to take completely on its own.

You ask AI to keep the coffee table. It takes the wood tones of the coffee table and transforms them into ceiling beams you never asked for. (That actually happened.) You specify hardwood floors, then come back to find AI has decided, completely on its own and with zero reference imagery or permission, that carpet sounds lovely… in a bathroom. Thanks for that!!

The thing is, AI doesn't ask. It doesn't check. It just decides. And sometimes those decisions are wildly off-point in ways that make this designer's eye twitch. You can prompt it, re-prompt it, and prompt it again, and it will smile (metaphorically) and do exactly what it wants anyway. (Just like your toddler.)

And then there’s rendering blindness… which is a thing! After staring at your 20th version of the same room, trying (and failing) to change one simple element, your eyes can stop seeing clearly. What’s changed? What’s better? What’s worse? Honestly, by that point, everything starts to look the same, and your judgment goes right out the window. Step away from the screen, my friend. Just step away.

You gotta keep a sense of humor about this AI wildness. Because the alternative is crying into your mood board, and nobody has time for that.

Great design begins with discovery and an open mind.

My Honest Take

I'm not afraid of AI. I'm genuinely curious about it, the same way I'm curious about every new material, every emerging trend, and every tool that helps serve my clients better. For me it’s #eyeswideopen, always.

But here's what I know for certain: the reason people hire Creative Edge Interiors isn't only to get a beautiful room. It's to get a space that changes how they live. That requires a human being who cares, who listens, and who brings not only expertise but genuine investment into your life and your home.

AI can help us get there faster, but it can’t get us there alone.

And honestly? I think that's kind of beautiful.

The future of design isn't human or AI. It's human with AI, led by someone who knows the difference between a gorgeous room and a space that genuinely changes your life.

If you're dreaming about a home that does exactly that, I'd love to hear your story.

Let's start with the most important question: how do you want to feel when you walk through your door?

In Gratitude and Good Vibes, Michelle